Why did Rory McIlroy turn down LIV Golf and stick with PGA Tour?

If there is a day when the LIV Golf Tour has attracted every top player from the PGA Tour, Rory McIlroy will certainly be the last one reluctantly out the door.

Ever since the first murmurings of a Saudi-backed series fully emerged in 2021, the Northern Irishman has loathed the concept and the idea of playing golf for money and not legacy.

Many of his Tour colleagues such as Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth and Matt Fitzpatrick have all committed their futures to the Tour. These are the key loyalists who have set a clear example of what they wish to achieve in their careers.

Although he still plays like the youthful McIlroy that burst onto the professional scene in 2007, he has become a leader of sorts on the world's top circuit despite admitting there was only one alpha in a player meeting earlier this week.

A number of the game's most recognisable names have taken no issue in joining Greg Norman's controversial new series, so I want to explain why McIlroy has such strong reservations and why these other players don't.

More wins and majors (?) to come...

Other than the new LIV Golf recruit to-be Cameron Smith, the majority of the players who have defected to the controversial league follow a profile.

Most of the players are either uncompetitive on the PGA Tour, suffering from injuries which prevent them from producing their best game or they are coming towards the end of their career.

McIlroy doesn't fall into any of these sections of the LIV Golf ven diagram. He has won the CJ Cup and the RBC Canadian Open this season, beating the likes of Thomas, Tony Finau and Collin Morikawa on his way to his 20th and 21st wins on Tour, one more than a certain golfer of course.

The 33-year-old also finished in the top 10 in each major in 2022. He came second at The Masters with a final-round 64 and he also finished third at The Open Championship in St Andrews.

Despite suffering Sunday disappointment at the landmark Open, McIlroy showed he is still chasing greatness four major wins later. He has unfinished business in his career which could've produced so much more to this point.

With each LIV Golf event that passes now, most recently with the Bedminster Invitational, there is no prestige or history. There is little meaning to the wins of Charl Schwartzel, Branden Grace and Henrik Stenson when compared to the tournaments we see each week on the PGA Tour.

Much like the other strong tour advocates, McIlroy wants to be on the winner's boards that have historical significance in the game. His legacy is not quite complete yet, but it would be if he joined LIV.

Role of seniority on the PGA Tour

McIlroy has been part of the Player Advisory Council on Tour for a number of years. He was elected as the chairman of the council in 2021 and he has now succeeded Jordan Spieth as one of four player directors.

Peter Malnati and Webb Simpson are currently co-chairman and James Hahn, Kevin Kisner and Charley Hoffman make up the player director group.

So the four-time major champion is not just a vocal supporter of the Tour, he is a key cog in their decision-making and player representation.

He was also present at the meeting between the Tour's biggest names ahead of this week's BMW Championship with the likes of Thomas, Spieth Fowler and Woods, playing a key part in the ongoing strategic response to the developments with the LIV Golf Tour.

"Like it or not, they can't really sell Tiger Woods anymore. The Tour had an easy job for 20 years. They don't have Tiger - yes, they've got a bunch of us and we're all great players, but we're not Tiger Woods. We're moving into a different era, and we just have to think about things a little differently," McIlroy said after the meeting.

"He is the hero that we've all looked up to. His voice carries further than anyone else's in the game of golf. His role is navigating us to a place where we all think we should be

"I think it's pretty apparent that whenever we all get in the room there's an alpha in there, and it's not me."

Money was never an object

In 2021, McIlroy described the Saudi Golf League as a "money-grab" and he compared it to the top football clubs in Europe attempting to form a Super League.

Phil Mickelson has reportedly been paid $200 million while Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Cameron Smith have been given alleged nine-figure fees to join Norman and LIV.

Many of the rebels have claimed to prioritise their families, a new and exciting format of play and a less busy schedule as reasons for abandoning the PGA Tour.

However, for the ones who have told the truth such as Pat Perez and new LIV broadcaster David Feherty, the money is the biggest pull. The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia is the majority shareholder of LIV Golf Investments and it is worth up to $315 million.

As much as McIlroy is endlessly wealthy as a result of his own success and his healthy list of endorsement deals, money has been in the back seat of his intentions compared with his legacy.

"We all know why everyone's playing in London this week. It's boatloads of cash and it's money upfront. I get it and for some guys that's really enticing," McIlroy said before the first LIV event at Centurion.

"I feel like the professional game was on a nice trajectory, where everything was becoming more cohesive and now it's becoming more fractured again and I don't think that's a good thing," added McIlroy.

"I do understand why they are playing. I just think they're thinking very short term. But everyone has to do what's right for themselves and who are we to say otherwise?"